Tim Robbins Biography

Born the fourth and final child of devout Roman Catholic parents in California, Tim Robbins grew up surrounded by religion: he was an altar boy; he attended services every Sunday; and his father was the director of the congregational choir. He became a member of the Theatre for the New City at the age of twelve and stayed on for the next seven years. His participation in the drama club in high school gave him his first experience directing for the stage.

Robbins then attended the State University of New York at Plattsburgh for several semesters. With the goal in mind of getting a serious education in theater, he relocated to Los Angeles and worked for a year to establish California residency before enrolling at U.C.L.A., where he paid his way by delivering pizzas and by bussing tables at a country club. In 1983, he made his big screen debut in Toy Soldiers.

After winning the central role of "Nuke" LaLoosh in Bull Durham (1988), movies became more of a serious artistic ambition for Robbins. Co-stars Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon shared top billing for the film, but Robbins nonetheless won critical acclaim for infusing his character with an infectious, goofy charm. The film was more than just a breakthrough for the young actor; his sizzling onscreen love scenes with Sarandon led to a long-term offscreen relationship - so long-term, in fact, that it eventually became a common-law marriage.

In Jacob's Ladder (1990), Robbins confirmed he was capable of taking on characters of an entirely different sort, and he arrived in a major way with his knock-'em-dead turn in 1992's The Player. Later that same year, Robbins directed, wrote, starred and sang in Bob Roberts, a pseudo-documentary satirizing right-wing politics. Two years later, Robbins had a watershed year, with starring roles in no fewer than four major films, including the romantic comedy I.Q. with Meg Ryan and the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption, with Morgan Freeman. He garnered an Oscar nomination for his work as director of 1995's Dead Man Walking, a film which demonstrated his strong views of social responsibility.